Times Change
by StormFang
Summary: Katie Anderson was just a normal girl, but one fateful encounter changes her entire life. Can she deal with her slow transformation into a Pokemon?
1. Meet Katie Anderson

A/N: I know some of you, granted very few of you since almost nobody read it, are wondering why I suddenly quit after writing my new stories first chapter. It's simply because I've lost that spark that keeps me writing a story, and I have lost all will to write it. Maybe one day I will write it again, but for now I need to take a break from it. This new story is something that interests me, so you might not have to worry about me changing it.

"Goodbye, grandpa! And have a safe trip!" Katie said to her grandfather who waved back to her as he walked down the trail. She wished that he would at least bring someone with him on his travels at this age, but at least he had his Salamence.

"Don't worry about me, Katie! Promise not to tell anybody what we talked about?" She smiled. She had lived on her own for the past 4 years with nobody but her Vulpix.

"Of course! But I can tell Amara, can't I?" He laughed heartily.

"Of course you can tell her! Who's she gonna tell?" She waved one last time before he disappeared behind the orange of the horizon. She valued the visits from her grandfather and wished that he could stay longer, but she knew he needed to get back home to take care of Grandma.

Her grandmother had come gone into a coma, and all the doctors in their hometown said that she was doomed to never wake up, but her grandfather had never given up. He worked sleepless nights to make a cure, and was rewarded for all his hard work. She was now coming out of the coma, and was going to make a full recovery, but now she needed a lot of relaxation from such an illness.

She went inside and made some dinner before sitting down in front of her T.V. "-elation to 6 other disappearances, where traces of the people have yet to be found. Police think-" She always hated watching the News, where none of it mattered to the reporters. To them, it was just more ratings. She watched some of her shows before going into her kitchen to wash up.

"Vulpix!" She was greeted by a mass of red fur above her kitchen sink.

"Well hey there sleepy head! You just missed saying goodbye to grandpa!" Her Vulpix gave her a sad, puppy dog stare.

"Hey, if you hadn't been sleeping all day, maybe you could've spent more time with him!"

"Vulpix Vul Vul Pix!" Her Vulpix barked at her.

"Don't take that tone with me! Just because I had you run today doesn't mean I'm overworking you!"

"Vul Pix!" Her Vulpix stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't eaten so much of the pizza you stole from my plate, you would have been less tired!" She said. She knew her Vulpix couldn't work her way out of this one.

"Vul… Vul Pix" She stated.

Most people wouldn't have been able to understand her, not even Katie fully could, but she could catch the meanings of the words by the tone of her voice, and body language.

Her Vulpix jumped off of the table and walked upstairs, ending the argument. Katie sighed, sometimes Amara could be such a little brat. That reminded her, she needed to tell her what she had talked with her grandfather about, it was pretty important. She went upstairs, but was surprised by what she saw. A very big, and very mean looking Graveller had her Vulpix pinned against the wall. She lived by the mountains, but Gravellers very rarely came down, let alone near humans. She picked up a large book, and hefted it at the Graveller.

"Hey you big meanie! Over here!" She shouted at the enraged Pokemon.

"Grav Graveller! Grav Grav Eller!" Katie didn't catch every word of what it said, but a third grader could have told by its tone that this thing was serious trouble. She had to divert its attention away from her Vulpix and get it out of the house. She had a plan. She grabbed her baseball bat and swung as hard as she could at the giant brute. The bat broke, but it did just as much as she wanted. It then dropped her Vulpix and started towards Katie. Katie ran as fast as she could.

It started to get closer and closer to her until she was finally outside. The Graveller hit a pothole and slowed down, giving Katie the advantage. She kept running and running as fast as she could into the forest until she finally arrived at her favorite spot of the forest. It was a sort of protected area of the forest where the trees made a dome above her. A flat rock sat in the middle of this dome where she would sit and practice playing her guitar at times. Next to the rock was a tranquil pond where the water Pokemon would swim with her. Truly, it was paradise.

Before she could marvel at her hideaway, the Graveller came rolling in at full speed. It stopped rolling and started to walk towards her with a menacing grin. "Ruta! Help!" She yelled to the winds. A Vaporeon poked its head out of the water and saw the Graveller. It shot out a Hydro Pump strong enough to take out a semi. The Graveller fell to the ground before getting back up and rolling off into the woods. "Thanks Ruta, you're a life saver! It came up to her and rubbed her side affectionately. He turned his head to the pond, then looked at her expectantly. "Sorry boy, I can't stay, I need to check on Amara." He nodded and dived into the small yet deep pond. His face showed before melting into the water.

Katie then started walking into the woods. She walked ten minutes before realizing something. "I have no freaking idea where I am!" Katie was never the smartest girl with directions, so instead of looking to the sunset to see which way was east, she kept walking, hoping that she would get lucky. Just when she was starting to think this was the worst 30 minutes of her life, an Eevee crossed by her. It glanced up at her and then lay down and started grooming itself. "Awww! You are so cute!" She reached out to stroke the wild Eevee, despite all common sense.

Immediately, the Eevee stopped grooming itself and its eyes glowed with a menacing red. "Nice Eevee?" It lashed out at her with a snarl and left a gaping wound on her left forearm. The Eevee then disappeared into the woods. Katie looked at her wounds, and knew she needed to get home as soon as possible. She walked a few steps and, ironically, found herself in front of her house. She sighed at her luck, and went inside to treat the wound.

She immediately went to her bathroom and opened up the cabinet above her sink. She grabbed some bandages and pulled her shirt sleeve up to bandage the wound. She was greeted by a faint scar with two points, which she thought might be teeth marks, imprinted on her skin. She thought she saw them glow a faint green, but then they vanished right before her eyes. Then she had a thought.

"Amara!" She screamed before bolting up her stairs at a surprising speed. She saw her Vulpix just waking up. She picked up her Vulpix and started hugging her tightly, almost knocking her out again. Of course, she had no idea why she was being treated so kindly, she was knocked out from behind.

"What are you doing?" Katie gasped, she had never fully understood Amara before. Had her gift progressed that much?

"Say something again, Amara!" Her Vulpix gave her a 'have you lost it' look, before saying "Vul Vul Pix Vul!" Katie's smile drooped. She hadn't understood a word she said. Had she imagined it?

"Well, I'm tired Amara, what do you say we hit the hay?" She barked in agreement before the duo headed for the door at the end of the hallway.

Light poured in from the window, she stretched her arms out and headed towards the door for her morning routine. She took a shower. She got dressed. She ate breakfast. Something was definitely different though, her head felt funny. Maybe she was coming down with something from that Eevee bite. She went to her bathroom cabinet to grab some medicine when something caught her eye. Her ears were gone! She double checked the sides of her head, but they were nowhere to be found! That was when the top of her head caught her attention.

Katie had always kept her hair long, she thought it had looked cute. She saw something poking through her auburn hair. They almost looked like points. She parted the hair around them to discover something shocking. "I've got ears on my head!" Her Vulpix was alerted by this sound and fell out of her bed, even though she was only awake for a second before drifting off to sweet dreams.

A/N: I think this is the best story I have ever written! The problem with my stories is I lean too much towards one mood setting, but this story seems like a perfect collaboration! Finally a story I can feel good about writing... Anyways, there's alot more to come, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Anyways, any reviews telling me how awesome I am would be great. -Head gets big from oversized ego- Also, flames would also be appreciated because I really like the constructive criticism. So please review!


	2. Marlex

A/N: I don't have much to say, except sorry for taking so long. I thought beating Wind Waker would break my addiction of it, but so far no such thing has happened. In fact, I think I'm worse off than I was before. Now for reviews.

Foxyjosh: Those are all valid questions that I might have asked too. And for every question, there is an answer. On with the next review! Just kidding. The reason Vulpix wasn't sure why she was being treated so kindly, was because the last thing she remembered was them having an argument. Also, I think I'll keep the information about Katie's gift to myself. For now.

Blissey: Thanks for your kind words! I'm not used to people liking my stories! –Puts down shield that protects me from rotten tomatoes-

Twilight the Umbreon: I like cliffhangers. A lot.

Any more reviews? Those sucked. What? We're still on air? Son of a- I mean, thank you for your reviews. Please don't leave. I'm so lonely…

Katie spent the next five minutes playing with the ears that were on her head, even though she should've been more worried about WHY they were there in the first place.

"There all brown and fuzzy…" She thought to herself. She heard the birds chirping outside the window, the mail truck coming down the road, and her Vulpix just getting up. In fact, all the sounds seemed clearer and sharper than before. She could hear her heart beat faster and faster as she realized the deepness of the situation. She tried thinking of a way to hide her newly found ears, and lack of the others. She ran into her room and grabbed the beanie on her computer desk and slid it onto her head. It covered just enough of her head so nobody would notice.

With that situation out of the way, she sat down and thought about what could have done this. Maybe some kind of disease from the woods? She needed to get to her spot, she always though more clearly there. "Amara! I'm heading out! You know where I'll be if you need anything!" She received a loud grunt in response, signaling that Amara was not yet fully awake. Smiling to herself, she headed out the door and into the woods. Being a lot more careful than she usually was, because of the previous night, it took her much longer than usual to get there.

Finally, she arrived at her home away from home. Still amazed at the beauty of it all, she sat down on the large stone. Immediately, Ruta jumped out of the water into her lap. She was amazed at how he stayed perfectly dry just coming out of the water.

"Hey Ruta, I might be here for a while today." He flashed a grin at her and rubbed up against her chest.

"Wow, I wish I knew why you were always so affectionate to me." She said not really asking him, but thinking aloud.

"Hm! If only you knew." Katie gasped. She had understood every word he had said.

"Say something again, Ruta!" Once again, she got the 'have you lost it' look.

"Um, bring more food next time you visit?" Katie smiled and stood upright, much to Ruta's dismay as he was still in her lap. She picked Ruta back up and smiled right in his face.

"I can understand you, Ruta! I knew I wasn't imagining it last night! I can't wait to tell grandpa! And by the way, maybe I'd bring more food if you ate more when I bring it." Ruta knew this was very special to Katie, since she talked to him often about her life, so he knew about Katie's gift. Because he knew how important this was to her, he let that last comment slide without a water gun to the face. Feeling playful, he nipped at her beanie and swiped it off of her head.

"Hey! Ruta! Give that back, I need that!" He took a look at her head, and instead of seeing hat hair, he saw something more. His jaw dropped, the hat falling onto the ground.

"What happened to you, Katie?!" She sighed, telling him everything he needed to know. She had no clue either.

"Ok, tell me everything that happened to you last night."

"Ok, after you saved my butt from that Graveller, thank you for that by the way, I got really, REALLY lost. I wound up walking for a good 15 minutes or so. Then this Eevee crossed by me. It seemed calm enough, but then it just attacked me out of the blue! Then I was home." He thought about it for a little bit.

"Do you think it could have done with that Eevee?" He asked curiously.

"I know plenty of people who were attacked by wild Pokemon before. None of them ever got brown ears on THEIR heads. So why me?" He sniffed the air for a second.

"Now that I think about it, you do smell a lot like Eevee. Do you think that Pokemon could have had a virus or something?" She thought for a second and gasped.

"What if I'm turning into an Eevee?! I'll never be able to go to school now! I'll never get to raise a family, or have children, or be a doctor! My dreams are ruined…" She sat down and put her head in her hands. She cried silently for a few minutes, then Ruta stood up suddenly.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Katie. I'm sure you'll feel better about all this in the morning." Katie looked up at the sky. Had she really taken that long getting here?

Y-yeah, ok. Do you mind if I sleep here Ruta? I don't wanna head back this late at night."

"Of course, Katie. Just promise me one thing?" He said with a sly grin.

"Yeah?" She asked innocently.

"You have to let me sleep with you." She gaped, but then sighed. After all, he was her friend, and no harm would come of it. Besides, she had packed her big sleeping bag, and there was more than enough room for him.

"Alright, but just this once!" He smiled, and they both help pitch her tent. She climbed into her sleeping bag, where Ruta was quick to follow. Katie was asleep immediately. Ruta spent the next hour staring at her, like a creepy stalker. But, he finally fell asleep next to her.

That night, Katie had some very odd dreams. A pack of Eevees were all in a part of the woods, with holes in the trees for cover from predators. There was a crystal clear lake up high on a rocky cliff where Vaporeons were swimming and playing. Jolteons and Flareons were all lying in the sun in the middle of a rocky outcrop. Leafeons were planting crops, no doubt to feed the younger Eevees. And she thought she saw Glaceons building huts. She did not see any Umbreons or Espeons. It was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever lay eyes on.

"Katie, wake up!" She was blinded by the light, her eyes felt very sensitive today. Then she realized her clothes felt wet.

"Did you Water Gun me?!" Katie asked angrily. She wasn't exactly fond of waking up in these conditions.

"Well, if you didn't have stone ears, maybe I wouldn't have had to." Grumpily, Katie slid out of the coziness that was her sleeping bag. She brushed her hair, and put her beanie on, in case a trainer came through the woods.

"Why did you wake me up, anyways?" She asked Ruta in a passive tone.

"You tell me, you kept muttering something about 'Marlex'. I wasn't sure if you were ok or not, so I woke you up." She thought to herself silently. What could that mean? That was when she noticed Ruta starting at her.

"What? Is there something in my teeth? Quit it!" Ruta sat for a second, and then sighed. He took one last look at me then walked over to me.

"Your eyes are green, right?" Confused by the question, I walked outside and looked into Ruta's pond. Staring back at me were the biggest, brownest eyes she had ever seen. Had she become more Eevee overnight? If this kept up, by the end of the month, there wouldn't be anything left of her. She fell to her knees, and sat there in a daze. There was something about that village in her dreams that kept sparking something in her mind. She would have to be more careful around people as these changes continued.

Then she thought about something else, what if she were to just drop off the face of the planet? There were reports of people disappearing, so maybe she could use this as a window of opportunity! She got up from the reflecting pond, and walked back into her tent where Ruta was waiting.

"Ruta, I've made up my mind. I'm going to go home." He sighed, he didn't look very happy.

"If that's what you want, Katie.

"You didn't let me finish, I'm going to go home. Then I'm going to tell Amara what's going on and grab everything I need. I'm going to come out here and live in the woods." He looked at a loss for words. He had a mixture of joy and shock on his face.

"That's great! I mean, that stinks that you're leaving home, but this is gonna be awesome!" Katie laughed, Ruta was glad to see a genuine smile from her. So it was decided, she was going to grab everything from home, and leave a note in case her grandpa stopped by saying she went on a Pokemon journey with Amara. Other than that, her plan was fool proof, other than the living in the wild thing. Now she just needed a way to get home. Last time she tried going home alone, she ended up getting mauled by a Pokemon, thus ruining her life.

"Hey Ruta, will you walk me home? I don't wanna go back alone…" He smiled back at me.

"Of course, just promise me one thing."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"Please don't pet any more Eevees."

The walk home was surprisingly uneventful. Any Pokemon that crossed their paths simply sniffed her, got a confused look on their face, then ran into the woods. They finally arrived at the house. Ruta wanted to wait outside, since he and Amara had never really seen eye to eye. They would have to get used to spending time with each other, or else she would never get peace.

When she walked over, a red blur came sweeping down the stairs and pushed her to the ground. Before she knew what had happened, she was being greeted by wet kisses on her forehead.

"Master! You came back! I was worried about you!" Now it was Katie's turn to question why she was being loved so much. They always argued, but they loved each other deep down.

"Did you really think that I could be taken down so easily in that forest? And who said you could call me master?" Her Vulpix gasped and stepped off of her.

"You can understand me? That's incredible!" Katie laughed at how young Amara sounded, despite the fact she was actually 2 years old. That would be young in human years, but in Vulpix years that was equal to the wisdom of a 12 year old human.

"If you think that's incredible, wait until you hear the rest of my story!" And so she recounted her tale of woe and misery, which is how Katie would have described it, even though it wasn't all that bad if you thought about it. Every time Katie said something, Amara's face got harder and harder to read.

"Tell me something Katie. Have you ever heard of the Marlex clan?" She gasped, Ruta was the only one she had told about her dream, how did Amara know about it when she had only mumbled it in her sleep?

"A little, but not enough to go on about it, what is it?" She said with a weird face that made Amara struggle not to laugh. Katie noticed this and glared at her little fox Pokemon.

"Alright alright, but we should get Ruta in here, I don't wanna explain this twice, and especially not to him." Katie laughed at this, and then she wondered how on earth Amara knew he was there. She must have had really good hearing because Katie couldn't hear outside even with her newly shaped ears.

So Katie invited Ruta in, and Katie pulled up chairs for them all to sit down on. This was awkward for the Pokemon, but Amara didn't like being looked down upon and wanted to be at the same level as Katie. Ruta had no problem with this, and so he just floated in the kitchen sink, much to Katie's protest. Once everyone was situated, Amara chose her words carefully, and then explained to them.

"There is a group of villagers that are very in tune with nature, but especially with Eevees and their Eeveelutions. Their newborn Eevees are fed only the most rare and unique berries, and are put through a harsh training regime. They are said to be the strongest in the entire region of Agies, but they keep to themselves and are very secretive, so nobody knows where they hide out."

Katie pouted a little bit. "If they're so hard to find, then why are you telling me this? And what does this have to do with me or anything?" Amara gave her the death look, which made her back down immediately. Ruta got a kick out of this.

"If you would stop being so impatient, maybe I'd tell you! Anyways, as I was saying… Since they are trained so bizarrely, it is said they can have strange effects when they have contact with humans. It's been said that only the Marlex clan members themselves can undo what they're Pokemon do."

Katie's ears perked up at this, which was kind of funny to see. "So all we have to do is find these people and I can stop all this?"

"Well, there is a little catch." She said with a slightly amused tone. Katie, of course, didn't hear a word of this.

"Great! I'll go get my stuff!" She whistled a merry little tune as she excused herself from the table.

All of a sudden, Amara just yelled something. "There near Ludibar town." Ruta laughed as he saw Amara mouth out _3, 2, 1…_

"LUDIBAR TOWN! That's like all the way across Agies!" Amara couldn't help but snicker.

"Well then, I guess we had better leave tomorrow. How about tonight we get some of that pizza stuff!" Katie laughed, she still remembered the time she had let her eat a whole pizza by herself. She had grown so fat that Katie worked her to the breaking point. Amara had never really gotten over that, and Katie knew she would get back at her one day.

That night, they ordered pizza, but Katie only let Amara have one piece, which got an Ember to the foot when she wasn't looking. "Oops." She said, not really meaning it. She laughed as she jumped around before Ruta completely doused her with a water gun. After that, she went upstairs to change into dry clothes but fell asleep on her bed.

Katie opened her eyes. she realized it was still very early as the sun had yet to rise. She felt normal this morning, and that alone was strange as she had expected some sort of change. She went in the mirror, and almost screamed at what she saw. Her hair was a darker shade of brown, but also had a mix of white hair in it, when she went to grab it, it felt weird. Almost like fur. She sighed, the sooner she found this Marilou clan, or whatever it was, the better.

She smiled when she saw Amara and Vaporeon sleeping on top of each other. No doubt they had been roughhousing and fallen asleep from exhaustion. She would let them sleep a little longer before they left, she knew it'd be a long journey. Ludibar town was easily a few weeks walk from her forest side cottage. By then, she just hoped that she would have enough human left in her to find them.

She would have to worry about that later, right now she needed to pack her things. She only packed the essentials. (First Aid Kit, Pokeballs, Toothbrush, etc.)She didn't pack many clothes though. She wasn't sure how serious the changes were going to be on her. She left a note for her grandpa, whom she was sure she was going to miss, explaining she was going to leave for a Pokemon journey and earn gym badges. She decided to leave before the sunrise, so she could try and avoid all the Pokemon trainers in the woods.

She went upstairs and woke the 2 sleeping beauties, who blushed when they saw they had slept together. It wasn't long before the arguments started. Katie sighed, this was going to be a _long _trip.

HA! I wouldn't go so far as to call this a cliffhanger, but it does leave you wanting more. I want the journey to be just as important as the destination, where hilarity will definitely ensue. Mayhaps I will change the name of this story to 'Journey of the Wandering Eevee'. Of course I'm not even the slightest bit serious, but if you do have a recommendation for a new name, please suggest it! I HATE the name for this story, but I cant come up with anything that suits it! On an unrelated note, I've gotten a few Private Messages for reasons unknown to me, since my stories suck, that I should add a profile. Well, I will now. But only due to the fact that I don't like whining. I'm admin of a game so it gets annoying after a while. Please review! I wont know if you like it or not if you don't, and you might make me sad again, and you don't wanna make me sad, do you? Ok, don't answer that. Just review.


	3. Accursed

A/N: OK, no update for a while… 4 months… I've been so busy with school and a new relationship so that I haven't had time to juggle this along with it all. Anyways, as much as I'm sure my 'thrilling' life stories bore you, I'll just get onto the reviews, and then we can start.

Twilight the Umbreon: Your kind words make me feel special. That was when I was experiencing a huge writers block, and had to go with what I had, in order to avoid a huge gap of updateless…ness… anyways, we can all see how well that worked out, with this chapter, so I'll try making it up in this chapter.

Tigerprime: O Someone still read this story after almost a month without an update?! Wow! Well, thanks for the compliment, I'll try not to disappoint.

That's all the reviews for now, so here's the next chapter.

"And as they walked now, going on for what seems like an endless amount of time, our heroes are tired, and hungry."

"Would you shut up, Amara?!" Katie almost yelled at her.

"They are grouchy, and starting to smell bad, unlike their wonderful Vulpix." Amara said with an evil grin. Katie started to look apprehensive.

"Don't make me get your muzzle, Amara." Amara opened her mouth to make a snappy retort, and then quickly shut it.

They had been walking for 3 days now, only getting to sleep on 2 days and eat on 1. They were tired, hungry, and nowhere close to where they needed to be. Ludibar was about 2 weeks walk from where they were now. Ruta had left to go hunting for fish, leaving Amara and Katie to bicker amongst themselves. It was no surprise Ruta had volunteered so readily.

Katie pulled out her map, which she grabbed from her home at the last second, thank goodness. They surely would have walked for much longer than needed if not for the trusty parchment of paper.

"The next town, Arore town, is about another days walk. We can stop for food, and maybe rest at a Pokemon center, but we need to get through as quickly as possible, so I'm not discovered." Katie had done well to hide her newly formed changes, but it was only a matter of time before they would get harder and harder to conceal, until she was more Eevee than human.

She pulled off her black cloak, finding it impossible to breath in such high temperatures. If you were to see her now, you would think she was a Pokemorph. She had a slight brown fur coating her face, nothing thick like an Eevees coat, but it was still unmistakably Eevee. Her nose had started to turn darker, but still looked human. Her eyes were the deepest shade of brown ever seen on a human. Strangely enough, her teeth had started to turn whiter, even though she had no time for hygiene on the open road.

"Ok, let's get going guys. The sooner I get 'fixed' the better." Amara couldn't help but smile.

"Katie you're becoming a Pokemon now, it's every Pokemon's worst nightmare to get 'fixed'." Katie turned a bright shade of red, which was visible even through the fur.

"You know that's not what I meant! Now where did Ruta go?" She said turning away trying to change the subject. All of a sudden, a very large man came bounding out of the trees.

"YOU! Your one of the accursed, aren't you?!" Well, her whole life had seemed accursed lately, she couldn't help but think. Then he picked a red stone out of his back pocket and lobbed it at her. As soon as it got in her general area, her whole body felt like it was on fire. Amara immediately rushed to help her, and tried to fend off the stranger. Then, Katie blacked out.

She was there, yet she was not. She was floating in the darkness, but it felt as if she was the darkness. Then, she fell. And fell. And fell. Until she slowed to a halt in midair and viewed herself as a child. No fur, no ears on head, just a normal little girl. Somebody had brought in a Zigzagoon for show-and-tell. It kept making barking noises, but nobody understood what it wanted. Young Katie stood up and said.

"It says that it wants to go home, and that you're pulling his leash to hard." Everybody looked at her in surprise, and then laughter filled the room.

"She thinks she can talk to Pokemon! What a dork!" Many of these comments flew around the room, until she finally broke down crying and ran out of the room, not even glancing back. She ran and ran and ran, until she came in front of an older looking trainer with a Bagon on his shoulder.

"Grandpa! Please don't ever make me go back to school!" So she told her story to him, telling him how she had been able to understand Pokemon for almost a month now.

"I understand completely. Katie, when you're older, I'll explain everything to you, but for now I think you should just live your life to the fullest." So he took her to a Pidgeot flying service and got them both a ride. Unfortunately, it took longer than it should have because Bagon kept jumping off the Pidgeot trying to fly. When they finally jumped off, they were in a secluded meadow with mountains and a forest surrounding it.

"Ok Katie, this is going to be your new home, I fully believe you're capable to survive on your own, but I will still visit as much as possible." With that, he built a small cottage and said his farewells to the young girl. And Katie, whatever you do, watch out for any-"

The images started to disappear and she felt the darkness lighting up, and she found herself lying down seeing a large man flee.

"A large man…" She gasped "Amara!"

"Yes?" She saw her over fluffy companion next to her.

"What happened?" She asked questioningly.

"Well, after that man threw that weird stone at you, you blacked out. Lucky for us, Ruta had decided to come back at that moment."

She looked behind her to see a Vaporeon with a very serious look on his face.

"Well, let's get going, there might be more men." So they started walking, but Amara accidentally kicked the red stone that had made Katie pass out. Immediately, she was covered in a white glow, and started morphing. She got bigger, her tails multiplied. Then as soon as it had started, it was over. She was a beautiful Ninetails now.

"Amara? How-why- what just happened?!" Katie stammered. Ruta walked over to the stone.

"It was just a regular fire stone, yet it affected you so much. Katie, we need to get moving. Now." Ruta said.

So they all left, Amara not even saying a word about her newest transformation. Katie wondered why Ruta was being so serious about all of this stuff, but she knew better than to ask Ruta about his past. They walked for a good few hours when a large city with lights streaming out came within view. It was none other than Arore Town.

A/N: Well, I know it was a little short, but I just wanted to make sure I had something to tide you guys over while I work on the next chapter. There will be some action in the next one, so hope you guys enjoy! Reviews are appreciated, but if you don't want to, I understand.


	4. Amara

A/N: Yeah, I know these updates are really spaced out, but I just don't have the time to be a full time writer. I was amazed at how many reviews I got though, so thanks to all of you!

Foxyjosh – All in due time.

Somerandomdude101 – Now I'm hungry…

Twilight The Umbreon – I'm not holding myself to long chapters due to my microscopic attention span. Lucky for me the writers block is getting smaller. Unlucky for me, it's still there.

Tigerprime – I think I've got a good handle on what I want Katie's past to be like, but I haven't a clue for Ruta. I do have this much so far. It's mysterious. And yeah, those dreams were her past memories.

Blissey – Wow, thanks! I like the title, but I don't want to change it this far in. I wish I had thought of that… oh well. As for the evolution… well, you'll just have to read to find out.

Cevaztyen – Heh, no harm done. I meant to update way sooner this time, but I guess I got preoccupied with… personal stuff. You're good at picking out the details. Keep it up!

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She sat there and cried, no more than a sad little girl. She was all alone in the middle of the woods. At least back home she had her grandpa to keep her company. Now all she had was some crummy cable television. She flipped it on to the Channel 1 News and saw some lady talking.

"-all found dead. And in other news, a young girl by the name of Katie Riam was kidnapped by an unconfirmed stranger just yesterday! A witness working at the Pidgeot flying services confirmed all the mans credentials to be fake, and that the Zarian region government had no records of the mans face. There is currently a 3,000 Kari reward set for the return of this girl."

She couldn't believe her ears! Sure, her grandfather had always said little about himself, but this? This was just ridiculous! And they think she was kidnapped? Just then, the images on the T.V. started to crackle and blur.

"Stupid T.V.! What is WRONG with this thing?" She quickly evacuated the room to go out on her roof to try and fix the antenna. If she had stayed in the room, she would have seen an ominous image on the television set. One of which Pokemon mythology does not depict in a pleasant manner.

As she got up on the roof, she almost cried at what she saw. An unconscious Vulpix was being attack by Fearows. She immediately ran over and swiped at the Fearows and scared them away. She picked up the injured Vulpix, noticed the gaping gash in her side, which seemed to bleed without end. She tore a part of her jacket off and used it as a sort of binding.

Unfortunately, a very persistent Fearow came swooping down, knocking her off of her roof. As she was sliding down, she switched her position so that she would cushion the Vulpix's fall. As she came falling down, a Salamence came swooping down and saved her from certain doom.

"Glad to see you're staying out of trouble." Said an all too familiar voice.

"Grandpa! We've got to get to the nearest Pokemon Center!" She said almost hysterically. He took one look at the injured Pokemon and gave a nodded approval. They flew as fast as a Salamence could take them, and arrived with record speed. It was immediately rushed into urgent care. Finally, after much waiting, a nurse invited them in.

"I'm sorry, but this Vulpix has lost just too much blood. She's already gone into shock, and now she doesn't have much longer." She said keeping a professional face.

"Then just give her some new blood!' Katie shrieked.

"This Vulpix happens to have a very unique blood type, and we just don't have any of her kind. If we inject her with a different kind of blood, she'll just die faster. I'm so sorry, I'll just leave you alone with her." Nurse Joy and her grandpa left the room.

"No! I'm not just gonna sit by and watch you die like my parents! I'm gonna do something!" Luckily, she was deemed a child prodigy, and dedicated all her studies to advanced Pokemon studies. She worked quickly, by grabbing some fire from the fireplace and holding it to her open wounds. She knew that Vulpix had an ability called Flash Fire which caused fire to heal her wounds. Unfortunately, she still didn't have enough blood, and even Flash Fire couldn't restore it.

She quickly looked around the lab, and finally found a syringe. Then, with one last desperate motion, she took it and stuck it in… her own arm. She drew the blood and quickly found the Vulpix's artery, and injected it straight in. Nothing like this had ever been recorded before, so she had no idea what the outcome would be. But it couldn't be worse than what would happen…

Finally, after some long moments of silence, she silently cried and left the room. Once outside the door, she heard a bark. Unbelieving, everybody rushed in, with Katie in the front. A tightly wrapped Vulpix was sitting on the stretcher, looking curiously at the group, then tackled Katie to the ground where she viciously… licked her.

Katie could almost hear her say 'Thank you.'

"I think I'll call you, Amara."

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She awoke with a start. A blinding light was filling the cave, she looked and it was Amara! She was getting smaller, and losing some of her tails! The glowing subsided and she looked like her old self again.

"Amara! What happened?" She seemed to look embarrassed for a second.

"Well, I think it's because I touched one of my tails…" She looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact. Katie couldn't help but burst out laughing at this. This was of course rewarded with a Flame Thrower, which was especially hard to put out due to the fact of her fur.

"Hey! Get back to sleep you guys! We're gonna need all the energy we can get if we plan on making it through Arore Town unseen!" And so they all went back to sleep, even if a bit regretfully. After all, tomorrow was another day.

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The next morning, Katie put on her cloak and went down the beaten path. As they neared the town, she could see a booth. _Uh oh, I hadn't planned on having to sneak past a guard!_ She immediately put up her hood and kept walking. As she approached, she noticed the man standing there was not very… guard like.

"Costume?" The man asked in a bored tone of voice.

"I'm sorry?" She asked.

The man sighed. "If you wish to attend the annual festival, you have to have a costume." Sighing, she pulled down her hood.

"Wow! Great costume ma'am! Go on ahead!"

And so they entered the town, not knowing what would happen that day.

_To be continued in Chapter 5_

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A/N: Not too shabby, eh? People seemed to be demanding more of Katie's past, so I thought I would show how she met Amara! Anyways, you know the drill, please review. By the way, Merry Christmas!


	5. Ruta

A/N: Well, what do ya know! I'm writing well before a month! I guess Christmas Break can give a guy a little time to write. As a lot of people have been requesting, they would like to learn a little more about Ruta. You have that very opportunity today! But before we can do any of that, I will respond to the loyal fans who reviewed!

Cevaztyen: Your response is one of the main reasons I decided to make this the long chapter.

Somerandomdude101: Well, you don't have to wait nearly as long for this one.

Well, that's all for the reviews. Everybody please send in a review if you have some opinion you would feel like expressing. Whether it be good or bad.

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After the… strange encounter with the man at the booth, she proceeded into the town with out a hitch. She had heard the rumors of Arore Town lashing out at Pokemon, eventually making it so that all Pokemon were gone from the entire area. And yet these people dressed like the things they so viciously drove away. _Must be like Halloween to them…_

Lucky for her, she was able to conceal Ruta and Amara quite easily. Amara was just put in her Pokeball, which she disguised as a fruit so nobody saw it. Ruta was a little trickier. She had never technically caught him, so he had to hide in her cloak with her. Which, he seemed to be enjoying a little too much. _Geez, even though he's been so serious lately, he's still as perverted as ever…_

Ignoring the unnecessary lump in her chest, she kept on walking through the town, taking some time to stop at some stalls.

"Step right up! Come one and one all! Take a gander at my priceless jewelry." This caught Katie's attention, as she had always envied those beautiful women on T.V. who paraded around with expensive jewelry. Deciding she had some spare time, she decided to take a look.

"Ah, yes young lady, how can I help you today? Can I interest you in some nice gold earrings? Made from the finest Nuggets!" She took a look at the merchandise spread before her, beautifully aligned. There was one that took her breath away though. A beautiful gold necklace with a blue gem in the shape of a star.

"You have a wonderful eye! This fine beauty came from the far reaches of the ocean. It was said to be guarded by Kyogre itself! The jewel itself would sell for easily twice its weight in gold, but I like you. So, how about the low, low price of 1,000 Kari?"

She was shocked! She had enough for it, but if she bought something like that, she would only have enough to barely scrape by. But something about it just seemed to emit beauty.

"Ok, I'm sold." She forked over the money and took her necklace. The man gave a hasty farewell and started to harass the next customer. She sighed, knowing full well she should not have spent her money like that. She put it on herself, doing a little pose. _Well, at least I look good._ She could hear barely suppressed laughter coming from her cloak. She had completely forgotten he was there.

And so she walked on, going through the labyrinths of the town, and navigating through the crowd. Suddenly, as she neared the heart of the city, she started to feel slowed. Her breaths were becoming more and shallower. Ruta noticed immediately and said something to Katie. She couldn't hear anything though. All had gone silent. Her heartbeat was starting to slow down.

She looked around; everybody was crowded around her, just staring. At one point or another, she had fallen to her hands and knees. Some had tried to come and help her up, but her body was unresponsive. Then, just as she was losing all consciousness, an all too familiar man came rushing to her. Then, everything was dark.

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"Hey Amara! I'm gonna go exploring in the woods! Do you wanna come with me?" She heard what she thought sounded like a 'No', so she just left. She often got bored around the cottage, so she went out to explore often. Amara, on the other hand, slept and ate all day. She had been drawing a map every time she went out, but the problem was she never got too far before she got hungry and went back. This time, she brought some camping gear and food with her. She planned on accomplishing something this time.

As she ventured through familiar territory, she happened to notice a dirt path she had never seen before. She checked her maps and saw a big empty spot where that path would be. Very curious, she decided to go and check it out. Going through, she noticed many forks in the road. She decided to stop for a second and decide where to go. That was when she heard it. Water. She listened very quietly and followed the noise, failing to make notes on her map.

As she went on, the branches started to get lower and lower. Finally, her shirt got caught on a branch. "Come on you stupid branch! Come on!" With one tug, she sent herself tumbling. Crashing through the branches, she found herself in a clearing. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The trees gave cover so that no sunlight came through, but in the middle was a pond that seemed to illuminate the whole spot.

But that was not the best part. She could see, even from a distance, that countless water Pokemon were swimming in the pond. She wanted to get closer to the water, but as she took a step a twig snapped underneath her foot. She saw the water violently thrash around as the Pokemon scattered. She went over to the pond and saw that the pond was now devoid of life. She sat at the rock and noticed how peaceful and serene it was.

Taking advantage of the moment, she took out a pencil and a pad of paper. She was a pretty good artist, even though she never seemed to approve of her own work. She took in all of her surroundings and set to work. As she got warped in to her own little world, she failed to notice that night time was quickly approaching. It wasn't long before the entire clearing was completely dark, and she could no longer make out the details of her surroundings.

"Well, I guess this place is just as good as any to set up camp." She said to herself. So she got out the metal stakes and pitched her tent. Just as she was about to close up for the night, a high shrilled noise seemed to fill the air. She looked outside of her tent to see a black mass floating around the air. She pulled out her Pokedex that she has gotten for her birthday and tried to see if Dexter had any info on it.

"Da… I … ghost… mon… ni…res… drea…" Was all she heard before the Pokedex shorted out. All that confirmed was that it was a Pokemon. And a strong one at that. Then it stopped, and rushed into her at high speed. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes and once again everything was calm. She gave the area a last look before noticing a lump laying not even 10 feet away. She cautiously investigated it.

It looked like a Vaporeon. She checked its pulse and saw that it was still normal. Breathing was regular, so why wasn't it moving? She picked it up, and walked back to the tent. _Is it just my imagination, or is this thing trying to cope a feel?_

"Well, I don't have any spare sleeping bags, so I guess your sleeping with me." It didn't move or speak, but she could tell it was happy for some reason. So, she went to sleep, ignoring the cuddling.

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She awoke with a start. At least, she would have if she could move. She looked around as much as she could, and saw she was in a tent, with a sleeping man in a chair next to her. She purposely coughed, so as to wake him up, but not seem rude. She closed her eyes, and waited to hear some movement. She heard footsteps coming near her.

"Sleeping on the job, are we?" She heard some scrambled movements, followed by a reply.

"I'm sorry sir! It's just I haven't had any breaks…" The man said hastily.

"You worry too much, does it look like it's awoken yet?" Were they talking about her? And that voice…

"I guess not, but what are we going to do with her when she wakes up?" The other man laughed.

"Why, were going to extract it of course. Such power as this should not belong in the hands of a child. Come. We have much preparation." She heard 2 sets of footsteps leave, followed by dead silence.

"Ruta, are you still there? Did you hear all of that?" She saw the Vaporeon climb out of the robe.

"Yeah, I'm still here. I was waiting for that idiot to leave so I could set you free, but then he fell asleep!" He said with a mix of frustration and laughter on his face.

"Ruta… Do you remember the day we met?" She asked while he quickly used Fury Cutter on the ropes. A perverted look quickly came onto his face.

"Yeah… I got to… what about it?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"Well… why were you there? What was it that I saw?" She told him the dream that she had about what happened.

"You saw it?! Katie! You have to tell me everything you remember about it!" Surprise was clear on her face. Never before had Ruta's voice taken on that tone of desperation before.

"Well, I didn't get a good look at it since it was dark, but I used my Pokedex on it. It shorted out, but I think it said something about ghost and… nightmares." He turned a pale white.

"And… what happened to it…" He asked, almost fearing the answer.

"Well, I thought it was going to attack me, but it disappeared after it got close to me." She said, wondering just how much Ruta knew.

"We need to get going Katie. Now." He said, not even looking back at her. It was night time now, so there were no more people to spot Ruta out. After walking for a while, Katie's mind started to wander. _The changes haven't progressed much lately, I wonder why?_ That was when she tripped, not paying attention. She looked down, to see what she tripped on. She was shocked at was she saw. It was her own cloak.

Just the other day, it was still showing her feet, but now it was dragging on the ground! _Wait, so does that mean I'm shrinking? Fan-freaking-tastic!_ Just as she thought her day couldn't get any worse, she happened to notice her necklace was gone. _Arrrgg! That was more than half my money!_ She silently cursed the watchman who had more than likely stolen her necklace. Little did she know, the stone on the necklace was a water stone, and it was likely that whoever had taken the necklace had coincidentally saved her life.

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A/N: It dawned on me the other day where I got the name for Ruta. I was playing Ocarina of Time and I managed to get to the Zoras. And I end up saving a Princess _Ruto_. Who happens to be a water creature. I think I need to lay off the Zelda for a little while…


	6. Beginning of the End

A/N: Hey y'all! Finally back with some new stuff! Been busy with my personal life lately, which includes a messy break up, but I won't bore you with my life since you came here to read something enjoyable. I want to wrap this story up, but with my plans, this is the second to last chapter. It feels good to see a story through to the end, even though it's taken about a year to do so. But it's not like I'm done yet, so I shouldn't count my chickens before the eggs hatch. Thanks to you reviewers out there who take the time to make me feel loved. I'll do as much as I can to repay you. I'll start with answering some good questions.

Somerandomdude101 – O.o Lot's of questions. Most of which I can't answer right now. Her name is Katie though. Not much of a help, sorry.

Foxyjosh – I always look forward to your reviews, since you can help point out mistakes I make which overall make me a better writer. And I'm glad you know what's going on, because I'm starting to wonder if I do…

Cevaztyen – Well, I'm glad you like it!

Blissey – The reason I said "Whoever had taken the necklace had probably saved her life" is because so far the evolutionary stones have had a dramatic effect on her.

ArigahWRITER – You wouldn't think so if you saw my English grade. Then again, that's just because I'm extremely lazy in school…

Wow! I believe this breaks an all time record of reviews! For me anyways, since this story isn't on any communities or anything. Still, I guess it's because my first story, The Ninetails Gift, made a name for myself. Hopefully people will think of this story when they think about me instead. Anyways, time for the main event.

1. Pokespeak – The language that all Pokemon use.

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Journal Entry #1

I thought that it might be a good idea to keep track of my journeys. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this up though, since my changes have seemed to be progressing at an alarming rate. It has been a few days since I noticed I was getting smaller, and it has only gone downhill from there. Just yesterday, I caught myself thinking in fluent Pokespeak. I don't know how this is possible, but it just happened. I haven't told the others yet, since I'm worried what they would think. We are about a day from Ludibar anyways, so hopefully it won't be too late.

Just this morning, I also noticed something else out of the ordinary. It's been getting harder and harder to stay standing. We've had to take frequent breaks to allow my aching feet to recover. I'm worried that this is another side effect of the changes, and that this will also lengthen our journey. For now though, only time will tell.

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Katie closed her journal and stuffed it in her worn out book bag. She had taken advantage of the time they had spent resting to write in her makeshift diary. Ruta had hardly said a word since they had left and Amara was… well, just Amara. She kept pestering Katie to keep moving, and if it wasn't for her, she might have just stayed there all day. _I guess sometimes it's good to have a pest as your best friend…_ She thought to herself. She had really enjoyed her time with Amara, since Ruta had been so secluded lately.

After much prodding, Amara finally got Katie moving again. They walked for a good few hours until it got dark. Ruta went off on his own after they set up camp, like he always did. Katie even told him he could sleep with her, but he didn't even consider it. She got her sleeping bag out and let Amara out of her Pokeball so she wouldn't have to spend the entire night alone. She felt oddly warm next to Amara, and it felt so cozy that it wasn't long before she drifted off in to a deep sleep.

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That night, she had more dreams about the Marlex clan Eevee and Eeveelutions. This time was different though. Before, she hadn't seen any Umbreons or Espeons, but this time they were in the middle of the area with all the others looking upon them. She couldn't hear anything, but it seemed like they were leaving. Many that were holding supplies looked like they were preparing for battle. Just as the group left her view faded out.

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She woke up with a start and looked around her tent. Amara was still fast asleep next to her, the occasional movement indicating she was having a dream. She looked around some more and realized that Ruta had yet to come back. Sunlight was pouring in through the tent. _This is the day… All of our hard work has come down to this…_ She heard a rustling noise come from outside the tent. She shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep as Ruta came in and fell asleep on the other side of the tent. She waited until she heard his breathing fall into rhythm and she got up gently, so as not to wake up Amara, and exited the tent.

She found a nice place to view the Great Ocean and got her notebook out. She did some sketches of it with the sun rising in the background, and capturing some of the Pokemon jumping out of the water into her portrait.

"Wow, that's beautiful Katie!" She jumped. She had gotten so absorbed in her work she didn't even notice Amara sneak up on her.

"Gah! Don't ever sneak up on me like that!" She knew it wasn't her fault, since she had chosen a location that made it hard not to.

"Sorry… That really is pretty though. I wonder what's past all that water… Are there more Pokemon? Some completely different?" Amara had never been so curious before. Unfortunately, Katie didn't have an answer.

"I don't know Amara. They say that when Arceus created this part of the world, he sealed it off from the rest of it and made all those who tried to cross, whether it's Pokemon or human, get hopelessly lost. Tons of people tried regardless, and they still do, but nobody has ever seen the other side and made it back…" Amara hopped up on her lap and stared out at the sea for a little bit.

"I want to go there someday." Katie smiled. Amara had never really cared about anything but the present, so this was something new for her.

"For now, let's work on what we started. We're going to go and see the Marlex clan today." Amara hopped back down.

"Ok, fair enough." She said. She was then more interested in a passing Buneary. Katie then started to wonder what was going to happen to her again. Would the Marlex clan even be able to help her? _No, I've come too far to worry about that now. _

"Hey Amara! Ruta! I want to get going now! We're about 20 minutes away, so hurry up!" Katie shouted. Ruta was already ahead of her, and Amara was scrambling to take the last bites of her food (What happened to Buneary?) before running after them.

Not 10 minutes later, Katie stopped for a break. She wasn't all that tired, but she felt… off somehow. Suddenly, fatigue started to grip at her mind and she felt herself slipping away. In fact, she couldn't even think, all she wanted to do was sleep.

Then, she opened her eyes, suddenly feeling alert, but finding herself somewhere completely different. Everything around her was completely black. She looked down and saw something shocking.

"I'm… human!"

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A/N: I know, this is a very short chapter, but to me this isn't even a real chapter. I just wanted build up for the next one. Well, Times Change is almost at an end, and it's been great writing, not only fun, but I really learned a lot. Tune in next time for The Grand Finale! I estimate it to be my longest chapter to date on any of my stories!


	7. A Betrayal Most Bitter

A/N: OK, I'm so sorry that I lied. This isn't actually my last chapter. I planned to finish it, but for the life of me I can't think of a proper way to end it. I know I can come up with it in due time, but I just don't want to leave you guys hanging like that. So, unfortunately, there WILL be one last chapter. WARNING: HUGE CLIFFHANGER.

Foxyjosh – You are my HERO.

Haloever – Don't growl at me! It scares me… P

Dragonfire411 – Gotta give credit where credit is due. Nice shameless advertising. I jest, of course.

All-Knowing-Frog – Hum, I didn't realize I used THAT many cliffhangers. I suppose I am pretty bad at that. Well, just means I'm doing it right.

ArigahWRITER – Yeah! Fight the power! Also, I don't even consider the previous chapter as a real chapter. More like a build up, really…

Cevaztyen – My evil plan worked to keep people reading! MWAHAHAHA!!! 

Erm, sorry. On with the show! Story… WHATEVER!

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"I'm… human! How can this be possible?" She said mostly talking to herself.

"It isn't, this is how your mind wishes your body to be. Look to your left." She glanced over and saw herself on the ground, passed out in a grassy field.

"So none of this is real? I'm just having a dream or something?" She yelled at the disembodied voice.

"That is correct. I lured you into this sleep to shield you. Your mind could not take the abuse that your body is soon to take, as the pain would have degenerated your mind to that of an animal, and nothing more." The voice stated matter of factly.

"Pain? What's going on around here? Just who are you?!" Silence. For a while, all she could hear was her steadied breathing.

"All you must do is look upon the waking world, and you will soon discover what is becoming of you. As for who I am… you will find out in due time." The last words he said reverberated in her head for quite some time, before she considered it wise to heed his advice and look outside.

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We had stopped to rest quite some time ago, but Katie had been doing that a lot lately, so I paid it no mind. It wasn't until Amara started jumping on her that I got worried. She wasn't just sleeping, this was deep. Almost comatose. That was when all hell broke loose.

"Ruta! Get over here! I think you need to see this!" I ran over as quickly as I could and gazed in horror at what I saw. Katie was again changing, but very quickly. Her facial features were actually being changed fast enough to be noticeable to the naked eye.

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She looked in a mixture of awe and terror. Firstly, she was confused as to how all of this could be happening without her even feeling it a tiny bit. _Is this it? Are these my final moments of humanity?_ For the first time in over a month, a single tear ran down her cheek. _I'll never be a doctor, I'll never graduate school… I'll never see grandpa ever again…_

And then, at that moment, Katie Anderson no longer existed. A newborn Eevee resided in her place.

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"This is bad! She's progressed too far into the transformation! She may never change back at this rate!" Ruta said to himself, not even noticing Amara. Not like she was any help, as she just kept flailing around like an idiot.

_It's too late. All we can do now is take her to the Marlex clan…_ There was a little movement. _She's waking up…_

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_Hmm? What's this? Why is everything so grey?_ That was when she noticed the Vaporeon and Vulpix staring intently at her.

"Oh! Sorry guys! I must've spaced ou-" She never finished her sentence as she realized what was going on. She looked down to see herself standing on all fours. Not only that, but she was very close to the ground.

"Guys… Did I… finish changing while I was asleep?" A slow nod was all the response she received. Unfortunately, it was all she needed to know. She thought how odd it was that it took her so long to realize something weird was going on. _Almost like I've been this way my whole life…_

"Look Katie, I know this is all very shocking to you, but we need to get to the Marlex clan as soon as possible. They may still be able to change you back. But not if we continue to dawdle around here."

"Yeah… sure…" They moved onwards, not saying a word. Little did they know, they had been spied on for quite some time now. A man in a black uniform and with no emblem on it processed in his head what had just happened.

_I see, so the changes have finished. This is going to make extraction much harder, but I guess we have no choice. We have to make it come out as soon as possible, before the imprints of darkness are forever left on this poor girl._

And so the man silently stepped out of the bushes, and quietly stalked the group of Pokemon. If he was found, the group may become hostile towards him. He needed to think out his plan of action before making any rash decisions.

Meanwhile, Katie and the gang had made great time, since Katie no longer had to take her frequent breaks to rest her feet. _This is great! I feel like I could run a mile! And I actually want to!_ Ruta noticed this, and kept silent observations on her.

_She looks and acts like a hatchling! If she keeps acting like this, then they will show us no respect! Especially since newborn Eevees are known for their energetic and sometimes mischievous natures. Hopefully she keeps her sights on what's important…_

"Katie, Amara, in this cave right here." Ruta led the way, occasionally having Amara light an Ember to keep the path illuminated. There were sounds of water echoing through the small cavern, but there was something else. It almost sounded like… Laughter! If you listened carefully, you could hear idle chitchat too!

_Is this it? Is this the Marlex clan?_ Finally, climbing through one last obstacle in the path, they came upon the glory that is the Marlex clan. _It's… beautiful! It looks exactly like my dream!_ Again though, she saw no Umbreons or Espeons. She wondered why exactly that was.

_We should enter quietly, so as not to make a fuss. _This, of course, would not work.

"WOW! Isn't it cool guys?!" Amara yelled before running down the hill at full speed.

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Luckily, Ruta grabbed her before she managed to disturb the peace any further.

"Amara! Are you out of your mind? What makes you so sure that they welcome visitors so readily?" She sat down, and started pouting. _Geez, what a brat… _

"Ruta's right Amara. We should try and avoid as much attention as possible." Carefully, they walked down the hill. When they got down, it looked as if a festival was in procession. Many flashing lights were in the air, which Katie noticed it was Eevees practicing Flash.

_I can't believe this! This is so beautiful! This is so much better than the festivals back in my town!_ As they get closer to the center of the town though, they noticed that many of the Pokemon were avoiding them. Many would even stop what they were doing just to give them a menacing look.

"Ruta, are they glaring at me? Is it because of what's happening to me?" He didn't respond. He just stayed ahead of the two without looking back. When they finally reached the center of the town, a lone Flareon approached them. This one was colored a darker shade of red, almost brown.

"What are you doing here, Ruta? The agreement was that you were not to return until you had captured that which destroyed our army." Ruta hesitated slightly, as if feeling regret.

"And I have, your highness. It is right behind me!" Katie couldn't believe what she was hearing. _What did I do?!_

"You mean to tell me that..." The shiny Pokemon trailed off.

"That is correct! Darkrai is inside of this human, turned Eevee!" Everything started to spin out of control. Katie was in shock, and the talking had all ceased. _Darkrai? Was that what the Pokedex tried to tell me? Ruta knew all along!_

"You lied to me?! I thought you wanted to help me Ruta! I thought you were my friend! I can't believe you would betray me like this!" She felt a pressure go over her head, as two shadows separated from her own, and ensnared Ruta as if they were ropes.

"Guards! Take her away before she does any more damage!" Some Glaceons came out and froze Katie's feet to the ground. She struggled as much as possible, the shadows finally letting go of Ruta to attack the Glaceons. Some to her right were hit, but then the ones from the left froze her body, only leaving her head open.

"You Pokemon! You have brought shame upon the heads of this planet! Had you not planned to attack the creator I may have spared your army!" The tone in Katie's voice sent chills down Amara's spine.

"Freeze its blathering mouth!" The Glaceons gave a complacent nod, and then with one last blast covered the rest of Katie with a sheet of ice.

"Stop! If you're going to take her then take me too!" Amara screamed at the Leafeons taking her away.

"That is quite unnecessary; you have done nothing against us." The leader approached Amara, with the crowd circling around them.

"And neither has she! You're incriminating her for something that some… THING has done!" Murmurs spread around the crowd, mostly in favor of Amara.

"Silence! If the Vulpix wished to be held in contempt with the war criminal, then so be it!" The Glaceons circled around Amara.

"That won't be necessary. I can see where your cronies are going." She followed the Leafeons, leaving the crowd in dead silence. The leader walked up next to Ruta.

"Can you see what you have started Kardon? You have sentenced two innocent Pokemon to rot for the rest of their lives." He laughed at this.

"Me? None of this would have ever happened if you had not given Darkrai the information he needed to wipe us all out. It's because of you all of our Espeons and Umbreons are gone, we are wide open to attacks now! You are just lucky that you managed to find a loophole in your banishment." Ruta silently walked away towards a tree.

"I can at least remember where I lived. And one more thing, I managed to live with myself. Can you?" He slammed the makeshift door, leaving Kardon to himself, as the crowd had dispersed after Amara had joined Katie.

"I hope you know that I have never been happy with what I do, but if I don't do it, then nobody will…" He walked silently away, not going anywhere.

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A/N: Once again, I REALLY hate doing this, but this is as far as I can get before having my entire mind crap out on me. Give me some time, and I know I'll have it to you soon.

Also, I wouldn't dream of not making this up to you, so I not only plan on making the next chapter awesome, but I have a one-shot I made a while ago that I never actually planned on releasing. I will hint on the fact it was inspired by 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia'. Anyways, until the next time, which will hopefully be the FINAL chapter!


	8. Turn Back To Your Regrets

**THIS IS A REDONE CHAPTER. PLEASE READ IT IF YOU'VE ALREADY READ IT, BECAUSE MANY THINGS HAVE BEEN CHANGED AND ADDED.**

A/N: Alright, now I know I am being extremely unfair to you guys. You hear nothing from me for months, then I release a half assed chapter, then I disappear again. And now, I return with nothing but a redone chapter. Pardon the language, but I feel like an incredible asshole. So, all I can ask is that you take this peace offering. Chapter 8 done right. With this, the beginning is, for the most part, the same. After that, everything is completely redone. There are a lot more things that are completely different and have a lot more information. Not to mention, my grammar has really developed a lot with this 7 months. I feel much better just pretending that chapter 8 was never finished. To start us off, lets get the reviews.

Cevaztyen – Haha, maybe, but nobody would want to read a book by someone who takes 40 years to write it…

ArigahWRITER – What you said really got me thinking about the chapter, and it was probably the reason this redo was done in the first place. Thanks, because I was really unhappy with that last chapter.

Teraunce – Well, the sarcastic part isn't sarcastic if you apply it to this chapter… Thanks for the compliment!

--

Katie's eyes opened, getting another glimpse into the abyss she had seen many times before. She stared down, noticing her human hands.

"Hello? Is... Is anybody there?" There was nothing. "If anybody's there, just say something!" Still nothing. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching her, getting louder and louder. She spun around, but nobody was there.

"ANSWER ME!!!" She screamed at the top of her voice. Her echo hung in the air for a few moments that seemed to drag on for an eternity. When the echo died out, a laughter filled the silence. It was a cold laugh that seemed to drill into her very being. And then, it became silent for a few moments before a quiet voice, slightly louder than a whisper, came in.

"You're such a fool, Katie. You always trusted in everybody so much, that you believed every lie I told you." It sounded as if the voice was coming from right next to her face, but there was nothing but herself and the darkness. She knew this voice well, as she had heard it every day for the past month.

"Ruta, is that you? Where are you?" More laughter assaulted her, which was enough to put her past the brink. Suddenly, it felt as if every unhappy thought she had ever had was working to destroy her. Memories of the children making fun of her in school, being alienated by everybody except her Grandfather, the news station twisting her words to make her look like a freak on TV… She had always relied on her Grandpa to save her from these things, but she left him behind to save herself. She thought that Ruta could be relied on, but now...

She felt so alone... She felt that she could stay here in the darkness forever, and just be forgotten. Suddenly, a pinprick of light showed off in the distance. She didn't understand what was happening, but she knew somewhere in her heart that this tiny ray of light was her key to survival. As she ran, the pinprick grew bigger and bigger, until it finally enveloped her. All around her, fuzzy shapes started to form. At first, they were unrecognizable, but then they started to take a definite form. She gasped when she realized that she was at her hideout. The trees, the pond, and even the big rock in the middle of it all! It was perfect, down to the last detail.

She sat down at the rock and looked into the pond, sad when she thought about Ruta. When she noticed ripples, she almost expected Ruta to jump out and land into her lap, but was shocked to notice a face form in the water. It was the beginning of this entire mess, and when it finally hit her, she couldn't contain herself.

"Get the hell away from me Darkrai!" She shouted, almost surprised that she could even manage to say that to a legendary Pokemon.

"Hmph, impressive. Even though I could kill you by simply snapping my fingers, you showed courage. While I'd like to continue praising you, we have to get down to the facts here." Katie was seething with rage. _Even after all the things he's put through, he has the nerve to make fun of me!_

"While I understand your rage, we don't have the time to debate." _Of course, a mind reader too._ "Not exactly. At the moment, I am sharing your vessel. The only reason we've been able to keep our thoughts separated for this long is because I've been keeping my power separated from your mind. Unfortunately, the bite from that rabid Eevee was just enough to let a small bit of that power flow into you. It was enough to start a chain reaction, which took the DNA that the Eevee left behind and merged it with your own. Under normal circumstances, you may have gotten a rash, but mixed with my aura, it was enough to replace your own DNA.

"So in other words, you kind of screwed me over?" She probably could have worded that nicer, but she was still pretty ticked at Darkrai. He had taken everything in her life and flipped it upside down, and has done nothing more than wave it off.

"Rather bluntly put, but yes. When I noticed what was happening, I asked for help from an old friend who agreed to slow down your time. For a while, you would have made it to the Marlex clan in a relatively human form, where I would have been able to escape and stop their plans, but interference with your body effectively sealed me and sped up your transformation." _He probably means the stones…_

"Correct. Even with this, I thought that you could make it to the Marlex clan and receive help, so that I may be freed. I was naïve, though. I did not anticipate Ruta betraying you… _Neither did I… _"With this, your fate was sealed. Right now, you reside in a prison. If it makes you feel any better, Amara is with you at the moment." _Well, at least I know they haven't done anything to me. Amara would kill them if they did…_ For just a second, she smiled. She forgave Darkrai a little bit now that he had explained that he had tried to stop all this.

"There's just one thing. Why didn't you get out of me the second you landed in my body?" She asked in a questioning tone. It was strange to see an embarrassed look on a creature that history had depicted as one of the most powerful Pokemon discovered.

"Well, when I ran into you, I was not prepared for it. Because of this, my entry caused irreparable damage to your body. If I had not stayed and tried to fix it, you would have died due to unknown causes in just a few weeks." This caused Katie to sweat a little bit, knowing now that she could have died easily if Darkrai hadn't stayed around. It was amazing to know that a legendary Pokemon cared so much for the life of one human…

"Also, you're blood was… Strange. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. If I had stayed out of your body, your gift would have grown at an incredible rate. Not only would you have been able to understand a Pokemon's words, you could have heard their thoughts! While you've lost the chance at gaining that anymore, you will always be able to understand any language." She was shocked to hear what kind of potential she had, but not really sad at what she lost. In fact, that would've been a huge invasion of privacy.

"Now that you're a little more aware of the situation, I think it's time you learned a little more about Ruta and the Marlex clan." His image in the water waved it's hand and caused the water to shift around. When it stopped moving, it showed a small and dimly lit room with Espeons and Umbreons gathered around a table in the center.

--

"This is madness! There is no way we can take down The Creator, nor do we have any reason to!" Yelled an Umbreon with a deep scar across its left eye, forcing it shut. It was then that the shiny Espeon in the chair across from the Umbreon said something back.

"No reason?! Every day, the humans take our land and enslave us to do their bidding! And what does that so-called "Creator" do? He sides with them! Every day, he gives them the tools needed to take away our freedom!" This made more than a few murmurs come forth from the small crowd of Umbreons and Espeons. With the heated discussion, going around, everybody failed to noticed the 2 young Eevees listening at the top of the stairs.

"Even so, what do you suggest we do? Arceus' powers are like nothing anyone has seen before!" The room winced at hearing Arceus' name spoken aloud. "We mere Pokemon could not hope to defeat a god!" At this point, the room was split into 2 opposing factions, each side telling the other they were wrong.

"SILENCE! While it is true that we could not hope to defeat The Creator ourselves, he has given all of his commanders great power, which could work in our favor if used correctly. I believe that the one called 'Darkrai' would work especially well. He is practically the next in command!" This sent silence around the room.

"You fool. Darkrai will never assist us! He is the only thing around to keep us from degenerating into mindless animals, so why would he help us destroy that which created us?" The sides had mixed together now, not sure who to side with at this point.

"Fine then. As of now, this meeting is postponed until the next full moon. Once we reach our conclusion, we will decide whether or not to send a representative to the Cave of the North to meet with Darkrai." There was some murmuring sent around the room, which was followed by the Umbreons and Espeons filing out the door.

"Kardon! Did you hear that? Darkrai is really close to the village! We could go meet him!" The young Eevee whispered excitedly to the timid looking shiny Eevee. He was practically vibrating as he shared the idea with his brother.

"B-but, you heard dad talking in there. Darkrai is really powerful..." He responded looking like he might faint at any moment. He looked as if he had been sick from a young age. This was partly due to shiny Pokemon being weaker than most other Pokemon.

"Oh, come on you spoil-sport, this is a once in a lifetime chance to meet a legendary Pokemon! Besides, if we get him to help out our village, I bet dad will be really proud of us! We'll be heroes! Maybe mom'll even come back!" He looked as if he wouldn't be able to contain himself.

"No! Didn't you hear dad? He's against the entire idea!" Kardon was dead set against him going. Due to his weakness, he couldn't go outside and play like the other children, so he usually spent most of his time reading from the limited resources offered by the village. He had read all the horrifying tales about Darkrai, but he unfortunately was too young to know the difference between fact and fiction.

"That's just because he doesn't think that they can do it. Well, I'm going now. Follow me if you want to." He started down the stairs and out the door.

"W-wait, I'm coming..." Kardon scurried off after him, worried for his older brothers safety.

--

As the two Eevees approached the lone cave leading inside the mountain, Kardon stopped to take a look. Inside of the cave was nothing but darkness, and even the outside of it was terrifying.

"I'm sorry, I just can't do this. I'm going home!" He ran away before his brother had the chance to say something to him. However, he knew that this was something he had to do. As he walked into the cave, small floating lights started to dimly illuminate the cave just enough to assure he didn't run into anything. Whenever he tried to get close enough to the lights to get a look, they would extinguish themselves, or flitter away. It was as if they were afraid of him!

"Hey! Are you there, Darkrai? I need your help!" A shadow slid across the floor and then stopped in front of him. The dark spot on the floor slowly rose up, forming a slightly humanoid figure, but still maintaining an ominous shape.

"Greetings, my child. What has brought you all this way?" Darkrai said in a dark, yet warm demeanor. He felt that Darkrai was kind, and that he could just bear his heart to him.

"Well… I was kind of hoping if you could ask Arceus to stop making all those Pokeballs for the humans." Suddenly, the air around the cave felt kind of heavy. Then, Darkrai placed his hand on top of the young Eevee's head and remained silent for a minute or two. Without a word, he removed the hand from his head.

"I see, the Marlex clan is stirring up trouble again. I had hoped they had learned their lesson last time, but regretfully, I will have to intervene again." Darkrai placed his other hand on the Eevee's head and muttered a few words before removing it again and vanishing from sight.

"Do not worry, my child, all the innocents shall remain unharmed. I do not want you to witness such a sight as this." Suddenly, he felt himself being lulled into a deep sleep. The last thing he heard before his sight went black was "Do not lose ever faith in the humans, they may surprise you one day."

--

When he awoke, he was outside of the cave, which had now been blocked by a huge boulder. He tried to make sense out of what Darkrai had said before putting him to sleep, but it eluded his comprehension. _I wonder if he'll ask Arceus for me!_ He thought with his childish way of thinking.

As he walked down the mountain, he saw smoke going into the air where his village was located at. _Is there a bonfire or something? I don't think it's anybody's birthday today…_ As he got closer, he became increasingly worried. His slow pace eventually built up into a sprint. When he got closer, he saw a sight that would be forever burned into his mind.

All the barricades around his village had been blown apart, it seemed. Pieces of wood and stone were lodged in the surrounding scenery. But that was not the worst part. All the buildings inside the village were either torn down or close to it. The only building left standing was the town shelter. As soon as he ran in through the entrance, a lone Flareon approached him.

"Halt! State your name." He said with a hint of cruelty in his voice. He had seen the Flareon around the village every now and, but he always had the air of arrogance around him. His father used to tell him to be nice the man, so he assumed that he was someone important.

"I'm Ruta Marlex, son of Tarten Marlex." Ruta said without wavering. This got a look of shock to appear on the mans face, which then led to a look of rage.

"Boy, you are in a lot of trouble. Guards! Come quick! Arrest this boy and throw him into the holding cell!" A group of Leafeons came and tied his legs together. He was then prodded to move with the group of guards, which was hard due to the restricted movement.

--

"Ruta Marlex, you have been accused of the following crimes; leaving village grounds without permission and eavesdropping on a highly classified military meeting. How do you plead?" After being thrown in prison, he was taken to town square, where they were holding him on trial. The Flareon talking to him was the same one that had had him imprisoned. After hearing the villagers talk, he discovered that he was in fact the mayor.

"Guilty, but I-" He tried to say, but he was cut short by the sharp voice of the judge.

"Silence! These crimes could have been ignored due to your clean record, but you betrayed your own people by sharing top secret information with Arceus' commander." Things didn't look good for him, since he didn't even have the chance to defend himself. The people that were supposed to defend him were lying by exaggerating everything he had already said in prison.

"I didn't mean to! I was just trying to help…" This stifled forth a cold laugh from the mayor.

"If this is the kind of help that you intended to give us, then maybe you shouldn't have stuck your nose into a place it didn't belong!" This brought forth angry cries from the crowd that had been for the most part silent since the beginning.

"For this farce of a trial, we are at least required to have some proof. For our first and only witness, we bring forth Kardon Marlex!" From behind the makeshift podium that the mayor was on top of, a battered Eevee came limping out. He had burn marks all over his body, and he looked as if he would fall over at any minute!

" I t-tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to me! He w-went to see Darkrai a-anyways! He t-told him everything!" The crowd gasped, which then spread into angry yelling. At some point or another, some fighting started in the crowd, and they started to rush towards young Ruta.

"Silence! I hereby deem you, Ruta Marlex, guilty of the murder of the entire Marlex army! I sentence you to be banished from this village until you are able to make amends for this horrible crime!" Ruta was at a loss for words. Before he even had any time to think, he was hit from behind in the back of the head. The people at the trial wasted no time in carrying him out of the village and leaving the young Eevee alone in the woods.

--

Katie could barely believe her eyes. They just banished him for being a little bit naïve? And it's not as if she could blame Darkrai for all this, since he was merely carrying out his job to protect Arceus. If Katie was in Ruta's position, she may very well have done the same thing. People do crazy things to go home…

"After that, Ruta wandered around for months. Finally, we happened to have another meeting. Something in his eyes had changed since we had last met. The pureness he had as a child was gone, and was replaced with something no child should ever have. It was the desire to survive, no matter what it took. When he saw me, he chased me relentlessly. I had no intentions of harming him, and if I put him to sleep again he may have never woken up. Finally, he chased me to a small secluded area where I accidentally ran into you. I believe that you know everything that happened after that." He said after his image reappeared on the water surface.

"So, what now?" Katie asked after a short silence that felt longer than it really was.

"For now, we will have to stop that foolish Kardon. Now that he knows I am confined to your body, he will stop at nothing to overthrow Arceus. Ever since the great revolution of Giratina a few years ago, Arceus has been in a deep slumber. Without the fear of my presence hindering their movements, they could destroy him with the slightest of ease." He said in a tone that indicated that she was the only one that could do this.

"I understand completely, Darkrai. I'll start by trying to convince Kardon to stop all this, and then see where that takes me." She said in a serious tone that was completely different than her usual laidback personality.

"Good, then I'll leave this to you. This illusion took a lot of effort to show to you while you were conscious, so I will have to sleep. I will now return you to you're prison cell where Amara is waiting for you." He waved his hand in Katie's direction, which caused a small black portal to open up underneath her. As she fell, darkness enveloped her. This time though, she was no longer afraid.

--

A/N Wow, I finished it! And it only took me… 7 months… Dear god. Sorry to have left the biggest cliffhanger known to mankind, and then only release a redone version of the chapter, but this had to be done. I feel that with this chapter written the way it should be, I'll be able to continue it in a way that I can write at a comfortable pace. Reviews are appreciated, but I really doubt for some reason that anybody reads this story anymore, let alone wants to review it.


	9. Redemption

**Please read the authors notes, they contain information on my plans.  
**

A/N – Whoa, is that an update? Of a new chapter? IN LESS THAN 7 MONTHS?! I think I need to wake up, because there is no way in hell that this is happening. Well, guess what? It's finally here. The next chapter will be the final chapter of 'Times Change'. I'll tell you guys now; I plan on finishing the next chapter if it kills me. Not finishing this story always left a bad taste in my mouth, so I had to come back and finish what I started. I decided to end it here for two reasons. My first reason is kinda stupid, but I want to end it with 10 chapters. Second, I see nowhere else to take this story. I've taken all the paths I've had presented to me, and finally, there is only one left. I think I chose the right paths, because so far the next chapter is looking pretty sweet. It won't be like my last story where it just drops off. I have managed to fit in a climax. Enough of that for now, let's answer some reviews from the thoughtful readers who still read my story and even take the time to review.

Zohaku – I'm glad to know that even after all this time; somebody was still reading my stories. Hopefully all your questions are answered in this chapter.

Markrock18 – I never really intended on explaining the workings of her blood. I just kind of planned to associate it with a random birth abnormality. I'm not really well versed enough in the workings of a human's body to actually explain how something like that could be possible. Maybe when the blood flows through her brain, it triggers something that enables her to understand these kinds of languages? I'll leave it to the imagination.

BYoshi1993 – You've got pretty much everything down, but it wasn't Ruta that bit her. Katie got bit a while after she met Ruta. Also, Ruta was a Vaporeon when Katie got bit. It was pretty much just a random Eevee. I probably would've put a lot more thought into that part if I had known the story would end like this.

--

When Ruta walked into his home, he almost cried at the sight of it. Everything had remained untouched by time, other than the thick layer of dust covering the room. Looking around, it seemed as if something was missing, but everything seemed to be in place… He waved it off to not being home for so long.

He walked around to the eating room, which was just a table with a clear space around it, where they would sit and talk while eating the days catch. He remembered back to when his father had taken him on his first hunt, and they had made a Beedril nest fall into the river. His father had told him to be more careful, but he never really listened. _Thinking back, maybe I should have taken his advice…_

He pushed the thoughts about Katie out of his head. If he wanted to be happy here, he would have no other choice. _I wonder if they're doing alright… _As hard as he tried to stop thinking about it, his choices came back to haunt him. Running into the pantry to see if there was any alcohol left over from his fathers parties, he found a note taped to the wall of the inside of the large tree. Some of the letters were faded, but he could still make it out.

_Dear Ruta and Kardon_

_If you are reading this, then that means you should expect the worst. Chances are good that you may never see me again. As I write this note, Darkrai is outside destroying our entire army. I don't know why he is suddenly doing this, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I'll never see you two again. I'm afraid I won't live to see you grow up, find a mate, and eventually protect your own children. This is just my selfish wish as a father, but I at least want to give you the chance to experience this by yourselves. _

_The world is a wonderful place, filled with opportunities around every corner. When I met your mother that fateful day in the woods, I thought I would never witness a happier day in my life. And then you two were born. You were nothing more than hatchlings, so exposed to the dangers in the world… Which is why I vowed to devote my life protecting you. Now that this has started, I can't follow through with that, but I can at least go fight knowing I raised you with the skills you need to live your life._

_Before I leave you to live your lives on your own, I want to impart a little wisdom. Always listen to your heart. Even when all logical sense points to something else, just follow your feelings to the end of the earth. This will lead you to people that you can share your dreams with. Once you have these people, never let go of them until the day life snatches you away. If you can manage this, you will have no regrets when you finally have to give up. I know I don't have any._

_Sincerely,_

_Your Loving Father_

He read the note over as many times as he could, until he had absorbed every last word of it. Suddenly, a drop of water fell onto the paper. Ruta looked around to find the source of it, until he realized that he had been crying. _If only I had listened to Kardon! I could have been here! Dad could have been here! None of this would have ever happened to Katie…_ His head perked up. _I may not be able to fix those other things, but it isn't too late to save Katie._

Ruta ran out the door as fast as he could, not looking back once.

--

When Katie opened her eyes, everything seemed oddly grey and dark. She tried to sit up, only to find out she was an Eevee again. _Oh yeah, I'm color blind._ Remembering her dreams, she tried taking a calmer approach to what was going on. She had barely moved, and the prison cell she was in was extremely dark, so she could still pretend to be asleep if the need arose. Turning her head slightly, she opened her eyes just enough to see in front of her. Outside of her cell, there was a guard moving down the aisle way at a leisurely pace. He didn't look as if he could be reasoned with, so she left him alone, only waiting until he had his back turned to move.

Her cell was surrounded by bars on all sides, but it looked like she was underground. She wondered how it was possible that a couple of Pokemon to build this entire village, but a memory flashed in her brain showing that these were actually ruins built around 1,000 years. _It must be Darkrai filling in the blanks for me._ After that memory, she seemed to have a better understanding of the layout in the prison. Unfortunately, she could feel Darkrai's presence in her head lift. _That must have taken a lot out of him, since he was already so tired._

Looking to her right, she saw Amara sleeping in a separate cell. Trying to move as quietly as possible, she slowly slid over to the bars.

"Psst, Amara… Amara…" She whispered through the bars. "Amara, wake up!" She said in as quiet a voice as possible so as not to alert the guards. When she heard the door to her cell open, she knew she was apparently not quiet enough.

"So you're awake, eh? I was instructed by Lord Kardon to bring you to Town Square when you wake up. Should be a fun EXECUTION." Katie felt disgusted. This man was obviously taking pleasure in her suffering. Fortunately, this was enough to wake up her sleeping friend.

"If she's going to Town Square, then I wanna go to!" Amara protested. Katie was touched that Amara would stick up for her even in these conditions. The Glaceon guard seemed to find this funny, because her comment managed to bring forth a small chuckle.

"Do whatever you want missy, you aren't even a prisoner. Of course, there's enough death penalties to go around if you wanna die with your friend here…" Katie knew the guard was just making a dark joke, but something about it bothered her. She turned around to see if Amara was looking as if she might back down. The look in her eyes scared her more than anything due to the amount of determination in her eyes. _She couldn't possible be thinking about… No…_

As they were being escorted by the prison guards, Katie sidled up next to Amara to talk. Again, that look of courage in her eyes was completely alien to Katie. She had never seen her friend so focused on one thing before.

"Amara, what are you doing?" She asked with a voice that had more fear in it than she intended to show. Amara picked up on this quickly and said something that she probably meant to comfort Katie with.

"I'm not just gonna let you die, Katie. I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but there is no way that I'm going to leave you alone on all this." Again, this level of maturity was usually so far beyond Amara, but she had seemed to tap into an unknown resource of wisdom with the current circumstances.

"Amara, just let it go. I don't want you to get hurt by all this. I'll think of something, I promise!" She tried to put on a smile for Amara, but she wouldn't buy into it. She looked like she was going to say something, but sunlight came pouring into the underground hallway as the doors in front of them were opened. Waiting for them in the Town Square was Kardon on top of the same podium that was used by the previous mayor to banish Ruta from the village.

A/N – Kind of a short chapter, but it's mostly build up for the last chapter. So far, I'm enjoying writing it. It's full of lots of things I never would have thought possible for me to write 2 years ago, but here I am now. Also, I would like to bring your attention to a new story I have in mind. With the way things usually go for me, I may not finish it for a while, but it's made with the idea of compiling every skill and every idea I have into one story. I plan on it having violence, romance, paranoia and just all out drama. Gonna have to bump up the rating by a bit because of the violence in the first chapter, but I don't think you guys would mind too much. Tune in next week when I finally finish this thing! Bring popcorn.


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